Sunday's frustration (hint no fish and stable flies)

Sunday 6/20 I decided to head out on a whim. Left the dock about 8am in Huron. Went out to the dumping grounds and seen some fair marks. Set up two dispy divers with a spoon and shallow bandit. Set up a hot n tot on an inline board. trolled NE with the wind around 2MPH SOG. No bites. Changed the shallow bandit on the dipsy to another spoon. Changed the hot n tot to a mag 44. Eventually changed to a few different deep bandits. Tried various depths. Got out to about 45FOW before turning and heading back S to SW into the wind. Similar speed. Only thing that got bit was me! The stable flys were horrendous. Eventually drove me off the lake since I failed to have insect repellant with me. Was only out for a maybe 3 hours but failed to catch anything. Only 4th time out this year but i didnt even catch a sheephead or white bass.
Water clarity seemed really clear. I could see the dipsy about 8 to 10' down. Not sure what I was doing wrong or if the fish were simply not there and not active. Ultimately the flies made me leave and not try another area.

Was I just in the wrong area or were the fish just turned off Sunday morning? I have been reading and trying to learn everything I can but not having great results. My best day this year was drifting using crawlers and I brought home 2 walleye and a perch about a month ago.

i wish i could help,i was over there out of little teds by marblehead memorial day week did very good on jets and spoons.going back this thursday for a long weekend,bringing my wife sister and brother inlaw.fishing same area.not totaly sure where im starting but probably going north and east on kelly island ,little deeper water there.i seen over 650 people read your post and not one reply,sad.but i did see that if you want to sign up for secret text on this site that they will tell you where they are catching fish.the only one posting anything is porkchop express and i thank him for that.i never thought that it would get like deer hunting spots for walleye.the dnr said there are 160 million legal walleye in lake erie.10000 people could catch their limit for 90 days in a row and thats only 540000. walleye little over half million. that only leaves 159.5 million left for everyone else .sorry for the rant but is sad its like that.

Don’t feel bad, went out of mazuriks Sunday early, went all the way north and east of Kelly’s till it was close to the border, and it sucked. Caught several farm animals, a nice small mouth, a big catfish and several white bass, no walleye. Not even a throw back. Trolled all around Kelly’s and nothing. The only thing we saw was the coast guard checking boats on the water, and at the docks. But a beautiful day on the lake..

Capt Juls post frequently too. I enjoy hers and Capt Sam's post. They both say what program they were running and about where they were at. Next trip out I am going to head West. I want to try a few different things but like i said, the flies were quite vicious. No fun where you are getting bit on the legs every minute. Better planning on my part for that next time ! Sometimes the fish are there and active and some times not. Have to find the active schools I suppose. Thanks for your reply :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bushman111

i wish i could help,i was over there out of little teds by marblehead memorial day week did very good on jets and spoons.going back this thursday for a long weekend,bringing my wife sister and brother inlaw.fishing same area.not totaly sure where im starting but probably going north and east on kelly island ,little deeper water there.i seen over 650 people read your post and not one reply,sad.but i did see that if you want to sign up for secret text on this site that they will tell you where they are catching fish.the only one posting anything is porkchop express and i thank him for that.i never thought that it would get like deer hunting spots for walleye.the dnr said there are 160 million legal walleye in lake erie.10000 people could catch their limit for 90 days in a row and thats only 540000. walleye little over half million. that only leaves 159.5 million left for everyone else .sorry for the rant but is sad its like that.

---

Maybe it was just the weather and walleye not active except in small schools. Next trip I hope to move around and test a few areas and methods.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Johnn

Don’t feel bad, went out of mazuriks Sunday early, went all the way north and east of Kelly’s till it was close to the border, and it sucked. Caught several farm animals, a nice small mouth, a big catfish and several white bass, no walleye. Not even a throw back. Trolled all around Kelly’s and nothing. The only thing we saw was the coast guard checking boats on the water, and at the docks. But a beautiful day on the lake..

---

i apolgize ,captain juls post a very detailed awsome report.i will be there thursday afternoon and i will try to give all the info i have.maybe if more people shared info the packs of boats would be smaller,when nobody knows where to go they just head for the pack and join in.

Are you referring to the mayflies. If so wouldn't that slow the bite down.

thanks for the heads up on the fly bite,they can be brutal even when the walleye are hitting good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MIKE_OMZIG

Sunday 6/20 I decided to head out on a whim. Left the dock about 8am in Huron. Went out to the dumping grounds and seen some fair marks. Set up two dispy divers with a spoon and shallow bandit. Set up a hot n tot on an inline board. trolled NE with the wind around 2MPH SOG. No bites. Changed the shallow bandit on the dipsy to another spoon. Changed the hot n tot to a mag 44. Eventually changed to a few different deep bandits. Tried various depths. Got out to about 45FOW before turning and heading back S to SW into the wind. Similar speed. Only thing that got bit was me! The stable flys were horrendous. Eventually drove me off the lake since I failed to have insect repellant with me. Was only out for a maybe 3 hours but failed to catch anything. Only 4th time out this year but i didnt even catch a sheephead or white bass.
Water clarity seemed really clear. I could see the dipsy about 8 to 10' down. Not sure what I was doing wrong or if the fish were simply not there and not active. Ultimately the flies made me leave and not try another area.

Was I just in the wrong area or were the fish just turned off Sunday morning? I have been reading and trying to learn everything I can but not having great results. My best day this year was drifting using crawlers and I brought home 2 walleye and a perch about a month ago.

---

Your not alone. I did everything possible on Sunday. Ran harnesses, bandits, flickers and spoons. All different colors, depths, speeds and directions. Dipsys, jets and boards. Caught 3 keepers and a bunch of sheep’s. Ran from west sisters to north side of Kelly’s. Marked fish all day, just couldn’t get on an active school. Better luck next weekend!

Not Mayflies, they do not bite or sting. These little flies called stable flies do bite.

Here is a link taking about them.
Biting stable flies bug boaters: What are they, and what can you do? - cleveland.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by badboards

Are you referring to the mayflies. If so wouldn't that slow the bite down.

---

Just read that a little bit ago. I do know those biting flies your talking about. They chewed my wife's ankles up a couple weeks ago.

Sorry, I haven't been out since last Thursday. Had blow day reschedules on Friday and Saturday and was scheduled off on Sunday and yesterday. Today, my guys wanted to reschedule for better conditions, so I won't be back out until tomorrow.

As for the flies...I find they do not like Copper Tone's SPF 50 sunscreen (spray is better than the lotion), and will not bite once I put it on. Others have used a spray bottle with a mixture of water and Dawn Dish Soap, but I don't like that sticky feeling on my skin, so I don't use that.

Horse sprays work too, but again, I don't like to get that stuff on the carpet in my boat. :)

1/3 Avon skin so soft mixed with apple cider vinegar 2/3rds does the trick on those flies, I go 1/2 and 1/2

Thanks for the recommendations. I don't have CT sunscreen but I do have another brand I'll try. We will cover up. It's looking like a nice day, 1 foot or less. Gonna troll bandit's and dipsy divers with spoons. Cedar point dumping area to east of Kelly's. I'll send a report tomorrow.

I remember awhile back people use to say Avon skin so soft repelled mosquitoes. Don't recall if I ever had luck using it. I will definitely try it out though. Thanks for the suggestion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by limitlypps

1/3 Avon skin so soft mixed with apple cider vinegar 2/3rds does the trick on those flies, I go 1/2 and 1/2

---

We were also out on Sunday morning NE of Kelly's on the line and then moved E. of Kelly's. 1 farm animal :mad: was all we managed in 4 hrs.

We tried harnesses, spoons and deep divers.

Was there a Mayfly hatch. Not sure if that would slow the walleye bite down or not.

We also fished Fathers Day morning.We were east of you Mike.Was a slow pick for us, but did manage to catch 12 keepers from 16-23" for 3 guys trolling for 5hrs. We also caught around 30 shorts and 15 white perch/bass.The dipsey on a 3 setting from 45-60 caught the most fish with double willow harnesses on them.Had an antifreeze color on one side and purple with pink back on other side.Had worm burners on dipsey with one setting that caught a few at 35-50.On our inline boards caught 3 keepers on 3 different color bandits at a 40,60 and 100 leads.So no pattern with our cranks.Speed was around 2.2mph.The flys were bad too,so kept my pants on even though it was pretty hot.If you are using dipseys,and initially trying to find depth fish are biting,set both dipseys at around the depth you think fish will bite.I like moving them at multiples of 5.So start the dipseys on 3 setting at 50 and 55.After 20min of no hits,move the 55 down to 60 and the 50 up to 45.Every 20min of no hits move one up 5 and one down 5.That helps you find the depth the fish are biting.

Biting flies ?? Use Vicks vapor rub!!

Good tip on moving the dipsy divers up and down. I did that but not as systematically as you suggest. I was alone so I only had two dipsy running and one board. Do not want to tempt fate and have too many lines in the water. I did not have crawlers but that may have helped. I usually get bites on the crawler harnesses but more junk fish and smaller walleyes. I also was pulling a bit slower. More like 1.8 to 2.0
Appreciate the reply.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by itsbob

We also fished Fathers Day morning.We were east of you Mike.Was a slow pick for us, but did manage to catch 12 keepers from 16-23" for 3 guys trolling for 5hrs. We also caught around 30 shorts and 15 white perch/bass.The dipsey on a 3 setting from 45-60 caught the most fish with double willow harnesses on them.Had an antifreeze color on one side and purple with pink back on other side.Had worm burners on dipsey with one setting that caught a few at 35-50.On our inline boards caught 3 keepers on 3 different color bandits at a 40,60 and 100 leads.So no pattern with our cranks.Speed was around 2.2mph.The flys were bad too,so kept my pants on even though it was pretty hot.If you are using dipseys,and initially trying to find depth fish are biting,set both dipseys at around the depth you think fish will bite.I like moving them at multiples of 5.So start the dipseys on 3 setting at 50 and 55.After 20min of no hits,move the 55 down to 60 and the 50 up to 45.Every 20min of no hits move one up 5 and one down 5.That helps you find the depth the fish are biting.

---

Fished Sunday on a neighbors boat, Started SW of Green for 45 minutes, nothing, headed up North of Ballast, caught 1 keeper (#1 Dipsey set at 2/55') and a 6# Cat, Broke 1 line and lost the dipsey and spoon. Weird break, right near the Reel. Also Stretched out a snubber on a fish, but the fish came off so would have liked to see what that one was. Stayed in here with no success, trolled to the line, towards Middle Island and then South, West of Gull. For almost 3 hours did not have a single bite, tried everything with the boat and depths and tackle with no success. Moved and set up SE of South Bass, and caught 4 shorts and some sheep, pulled lines and went home. I did place 2nd in the Fly killing contest with 11 kills to my credit (Yellow fly swatter, overhand twist). The whole boat got 38 flys. Blow day Monday and did not go today, but wind was winding down when I left. One neighbor fished off of Lorain and got his 18 fish on Sunday.

Beautiful day on the Lake! (besides lack of fish and the flys)

I’ve had a trip like this three Sundays ago. We had four people in the boat and were able to get 10 rods trolling so we avoided the skunk with two keepers. Each line ran for 5 hours x 10 lines = 50 hours of lure action. That’s 1 walleye per 25 hours of trolling if a single rod had been used. We were among many charter boats so it’s not like we chose a bad spot. I keep hearing about a bite near West Sister. Twice I have ignored that thinking it’s too late in the season to fish that far west. Could it be that the larger fish are not migrating this year and instead are hanging out with last years hatch?

What’s the limit on flies. I got a couple double hitters with one fly swatter this year…. Talked to some guys today. They have been doing better around 6pm than during day around SBI…My buddy caught his limit on his pontoon boat right off shore off of Lorain. Two rods off back no boards on rapalas…GL next time.

There were a lot of boats out past West Sister Island on Sunday morning and fish were being caught. It was slow fishing because the fish were scatttered evenly and not very active. My son and me had 8 walleye keepers out of about 16 caught in 2-1/2 hours of fishing. (It was my sons first time out this year and he didn’t need a license since it was the free Ohio fishing weekend!) The small ones should all be big enough by fall or early next spring at least. We were trolling with bottom bouncers and crawler harnesses of assorted colors. The fire tiger color was our best producer for the day.
Eric

I was out Father’s Day morning up on the line NE of Kelleys and managed to get one keeper on a TT30 with a spoon 67 back in 2 hours of trolling with the waves. Heard of a bite father east and pulled up the gear and made the run east since it was so calm. Started trolling with the waves to the northeast again and got 2 more keepers on a Dipseys #30 90 back. Turned around towards home and went into the waves and caught 6 in rapid succession on the same #3 Dipsey 90 back on Scorpion spoons. Also caught 4-5 shorts in that same troll. My assumption is the current was affecting the action or depth of the spoons. I had 8 lines in the water with 4 dipseys and 4 offshore boards with bandits and TT30’s and the dipseys did the heavy lifting. Just goes to show you that you need to try many different things each day to get them to bite. The mayfly hatch hasn’t helped but if they are hungry, they will bite if you are in the strike zone. Hope the next trip is better for ya.

Good detailed report. What size willow blades and bead colors were you using on your harnesses? I thought I had tied every color and style of crawler harnesses, but never a double willow harness. Looks like another trip to Jann's Netcraft is in my future. I'll post the next time I'm out. My boat has been waiting to get in the shop for three weeks now and expect a quote on the damages ( pumping out the tank and carburetor rebuild) later today. Good luck on your next trip.

Good tip on the Coppertone spray. Is it a pump spray or a spray can that you use. I enjoy all the fishing info you share in your posts. Thanks.

90 back puts the dipsy pretty deep. I should have tried much deeper and moved around but those stupid biting flies drove me crazy so I just headed in after a few hours. Next trip I plan to be better prepared. Thanks for the report.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Golden bear

I was out Father’s Day morning up on the line NE of Kelleys and managed to get one keeper on a TT30 with a spoon 67 back in 2 hours of trolling with the waves. Heard of a bite father east and pulled up the gear and made the run east since it was so calm. Started trolling with the waves to the northeast again and got 2 more keepers on a Dipseys #30 90 back. Turned around towards home and went into the waves and caught 6 in rapid succession on the same #3 Dipsey 90 back on Scorpion spoons. Also caught 4-5 shorts in that same troll. My assumption is the current was affecting the action or depth of the spoons. I had 8 lines in the water with 4 dipseys and 4 offshore boards with bandits and TT30’s and the dipseys did the heavy lifting. Just goes to show you that you need to try many different things each day to get them to bite. The mayfly hatch hasn’t helped but if they are hungry, they will bite if you are in the strike zone. Hope the next trip is better for ya.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Skywatcher

Good detailed report. What size willow blades and bead colors were you using on your harnesses? I thought I had tied every color and style of crawler harnesses, but never a double willow harness. Looks like another trip to Jann's Netcraft is in my future. I'll post the next time I'm out. My boat has been waiting to get in the shop for three weeks now and expect a quote on the damages ( pumping out the tank and carburetor rebuild) later today. Good luck on your next trip.

---

I'm not quite sure the willow blades are labeled by size.I know the colorado blades do come by size number.I would say the size of willow is 2" long by 1/2" wide.I use quick change cleves with a lip on them.Then gamagatzu #1 hook and a treble behind that.The double willow are good because you can run them at higher speeds than the colorado.Im not sure how much bead color matters,but i use 6mm diameter beads.I like the transparent colors if i can get them.I like orange beads on all my trolling harness and i use a purple bead if got antifreeze blade and use neon yellow bead if using a purple blade.Seaguar 20# flourocarbon tied 6.5ft long.

Bite is starting to pick back up snagged this Wally in front of Castle depth 36ft, 2.5 mph, 51 ft of line, flicker minnow. Attachment 7222 I may of dragged him a bit to long

You did better than me !!!!!

Thanks for the info. I like the longer leader idea. I usually tie my harnesses either 36" or 48".